Life In Progress

Sylvia Guillem is bowing out while she's still at the top. Aged 50, and with 39 years of experience dancing on the most celebrated stages of the world, Guillem has chosen Sydney as one of the stops on her farewell tour and it's a privilege local dance fans shouldn't take for granted. The modern program she's chosen perfectly shows off the different sides to Guillem's mastery. Solo opener Techne and partner piece Here & After, danced with Emanuela Montanari, were a showcase of Guillem's control and fluidity, the dancer manipulating her body through a series of stunning shapes then twisting and spinning away in a nod to the classical ballet that kicked off her career. Guillem certainly earned the break that brought Brigel Gjoka and Riley Watts to the stage for Duo2015. Choreographed by William Forsythe, this breathtaking piece offered up moments of charming synchronicity before the two dancers would drift apart to put their own individual stamps on the simple but spellbinding movements.

Guillem's final solo piece, Bye, was much lighter in mood, almost whimsical. Staged around a doorway where the projected Guillem quickly turned into the real thing, Bye allowed her to lose herself in the effervescence of the airy Beethoven score before the dancer, noticing a crowd watching her through the door, disappeared back into her projected self and walked away.

Guillem's is a once-in-a-lifetime talent. Be thankful she has chosen to share it with Sydney.